Kerala : Service co-operative bank plans cancer centre in Kozhikode

In an ambitious move, the Calicut City Service Co-operative Bank has decided to set up a cancer centre in Chathamangal panchayat near NITC with an outlay of Rs 400 crore.TNN | August 19, 2015, 02:39 IST

“The idea of a cancer hospital came to our mind more than four years ago, but it did not materialize due to many reasons. Now we have got all the clearances and 15.5 acres has been purchased for constructing the hospital,” he said. CARE Foundation has decided to give the name of CMP leader and former co-operation minister M V Raghavan for the hospital considering his contribution to the co-operative sector. “Initially MVR dissuaded us from starting the venture, but when he realized our commitment he agreed. It was the CPM leader and former co-operation minister G Sudhakaran who gave government’s sanction for the project,” Vijayakrishnan said.

“Our aim is to provide world-class treatment facilities at the hospital. Cancer treatment is very costly and sometimes inaccessible to the poor. So we have decided to provide free treatment to 30 % of the patients,” he said.

Arun Nalappad from a Bangalore-based firm that has designed many hospitals in the country and Tony Joseph, city-based architect, have been roped in to design the hospital, which will be eco-friendly.

Dr Narayanankutty Varrier, famous oncologist and vice-chairman of the Foundation, said in the last five years there has been an alarming growth in the number of cancer patients.

“Kerala is far ahead of providing basic treatment for cancer where reasonable care is given to patients,” he said.

According to the doctor, early detection is critical in the management of the disease. “But unfortunately in many instances, we diagnose cancer at an advanced stage, which makes the management of cancer difficult. The hospital will have all the different departments needed for cancer treatment and advanced facility such as target therapy and molecular diagnosis will be made available,” he said.

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A bench of Chief Justice Rajendra Menon and Justice V K Rao passed the order while acting on a PIL filed by Delhi-based dermatologist Zaheer Ahmed who complained that lakhs of medicines were being sold on the internet every day without much regulation, posing a huge risk to patients and doctors alike.